About x41t

Hi, so I found a mint x41t with the dock for about $300. I was wondering if it the x41t still worth buying. Though I dont need something very fast(I have a T500 for gaming and stuff) it be kinda nice to have something more portable.

Any feedback would be nice. Thanks in advance

 

Personally, I don't think you'll need the dock if you already have a powerful system that you'll be using when you're at the desk.

My friend recently bought an X41 tablet as well, and it's very nice and portable, even though it isn't very speedy. It's certainly a good choice if it won't be your main machine for more intensive use.

 

Yeah, but it comes with a dock even though I dont think ima use it (though I am getting a dock for the T500). I want it, but I think I can make due with the T500 alone >_>

 

The slow hard drive on the X41 is a performance killer. I'd buy one of the adapters on eBay and the appropriate flash card if you don't need a lot of space. It will offer you better performance. The X41t has a very nice IPS screen.

 

Or you can buy a KingSpec SSD which fits directly in this machine. I have X41t and I'm just typing on it. Granted, the SSD has a JMicron controller and is probably not the fastest you can get. But it's ok for the money. A lot of people bash this controller, but I can tell you that with Windows 7 this machine literally flies compared to the built in Hitachi HDD.

 

The x41T is a fine choice if you are looking for a more portable computer for light document, internet, and notetaking work. You also get the benefit of a high quality, albeit low resolution, display with digitizer pen.

As ZaZ said, the biggest problem with the x41T (and the rest of the x4x line) is the very slow and difficult to upgrade 1.8" HDD. A CF card with adapter is probably the cheapest and most reasonable alternative.

I've also heard of decent improvements from running the x41T with Windows 7 or Vista and ReadyBoost. The cache on the SD card can help offset some of the slow disk performance quite well. You will also benefit from the improved tablet input features in Vista/7 compared to XP Tablet PC edition.

 

hmm, thing is, I dont want to spend too much for a secondary notebook. Ive had a ibook G4, and the 4200rpm disk was slow, so if it is the same speed, I know how slow it is. The problem with the CF card upgrade is that a 16gb plus adaptor isnt cheap, and if I factor in that cost, it is near a used x61t.

a high quality screen was mentioned and I was wondering how good is it(maybe compare it to a T500).

Also, Hows the batterylife of these things?

 

The screen is VERY GOOD. Contrast, viewing angles, and general quality will be far superior to the T500. Overall brightness will be about the same, resolution on the x41T will be lower.

If the battery is in good condition, the battery life can be quite good. A good condition 8 cell should give 5-7 hours, and a good condition 4 cell should give 2-4 hours. However, if the battery is heavily used it may not last that long.

The cheapest way to get good performance is to use Windows 7 RC (32-bit), and a 2GB SD card ( like this one for $8) for ReadyBoost. The flash cache should help offset the sluggishness of the HDD to a decent degree, and this is a very cheap upgrade.

 

I don't know about your MacBook, but those drives are some of the worst.

 

Personally, I think that if you are going to buy a used laptop, especially as a secondary computer, you would want to spend as little money on it as possible. So if performance matters that much, you would probably be even better off finding a really cheap X61t or X60t rather than go through with expensive upgrades to an X41t.

Regarding the screen, I believe it will be superior in most aspects to the T500's except perhaps in brightness. I'm not positive, but I believe the X41t's screen is rated at 150 nits while the T500's screen is rated at 200 nits.